


Echo of the Past

by ordinarywriter29



Category: Horizon: Zero Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Adventure & Romance, Eventual Romance, F/M, Post-Apocalypse, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-27
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-18 10:40:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29732610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ordinarywriter29/pseuds/ordinarywriter29
Summary: Waking up nearly a thousand years later, all he wanted was answers. What happened to everyone? Aloy of the Nora had questions of her own. Together, they set off on a grand adventure for answers.Updates: Sporadic
Relationships: Aloy (Horizon: Zero Dawn)/Original Male Character(s)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 18





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've recently finished playing Horizon Zero Dawn for the first time, and within a few hours of starting, I was already thinking 'Wonder what would happen and how people would react if someone was frozen for a thousand years, woke up, and joined Aloy on her quest?' And that led to this story.
> 
> If you are wondering, I call most of my characters in games Shepard as a homage to the Commander in Mass Effect.
> 
> If you read stories elsewhere, you will find this story uploaded under different usernames, but it's the same author. :-)

The greatest minds will always have that one golden idea that will change the course of history and humanity. And when that idea turns into a plan, and that plan becomes reality, the greatest minds know that you cannot just rely on that one pan, no matter how solid it may be. It is best to have a back up. And a back up to the back up. And so on and so forth…

With the looming extinction on the horizon, Elisabet Sobeck had that back up plan. Project Zero Dawn and Operation: Enduring Victory were released to the public as being the plans to save humanity from the Faro Plague. Only those at the very top, working on the Zero Dawn, knew the cold, logical truth. Humanity at that moment couldn’t be saved, at least not yet, but the idea of humanity would endure.

But humans were nothing if not creative, ambitious and perhaps wishful. And while Elisabet believed in Zero Dawn and that humanity would one day again rise to walk the Earth, it’s best if there was a back-up plan, just in case. But it was a plan, just like Zero Dawn, that required the utmost secrecy. The technology was still in its infancy. There was a good chance those selected might not survive, but considering what the future was for anyone alive, she figured the thousands of souls selected would likely be willing to give this a shot.

“Are you sure we should be throwing resources at this, Doctor?” General Herres asked.

As she programmed alongside her fellow scientists, she kept an eye on the news. It was wall to wall propaganda as humanity faced down the robots. Vast swathes of humanity had already been cut down and slaughtered. Pockets of resistance across the globe still battled to the last, but the last major confrontations would be fought on the American continent. The two oceans had been crossed. The plague had arrived and she knew could not be stopped.

Every victory was greeted as if the tide was on the verge of being stopped and possibly even turned. Every soldier was told of Zero Dawn, though not the truth. They simply couldn’t be told. It was a necessary lie. “If something was to go wrong, General, and I do mean if, then we must have some sort of back-up. Besides, Ted is paying for it all. We have the people required, the greatest minds working on all of this. It’s the knowhow of making it work.”

“I thought the technology wasn’t capable of sustaining human life?”

“We’re working on it twenty-four-seven like everything else, General. I believe it will work. In addition to that, I’ve already set out the conditions of when they should be woken up and the selection process involved. It’s about sustaining life more than anything else, General. Fit, young, healthy men and women only.”

Before Herres could answer, another special news report appeared on the screen nearby. ‘Victory in New York on Christmas Day!’ the headline stated, before the screen changed to a reporter on the scene.

“Unbelievable scenes here fifty kilometres west of the smoking ruins of New York City. Brave members of the 9th Mechanised Response Brigade have just eliminated a Titan that was threatening to overrun their entire position.” The camera panned to see a lone tank appearing through the smoke. “I thought there would be more…” the reporter stated.

The tank pulled up and a bloodied soldier appeared through the hatch. “Get me a fuckin’ medic over here. And there are more coming behind me, all of them utterly fuckin’ banged up!”

Elisabet couldn’t help smirk. “Well, I know exactly where he’s from,” she muttered.

The report approached the soldier as he pulled himself up and out of the hatch, before leaning back in to drag out one of his fellow soldiers. “Soldier, soldier! Were you involved in the battle?”

The soldier cast the reporter with a weary glance. “What does it fuckin’ look like I was doing? Driving around in fuckin’ circles, trying to get a fuckin’ picture?” Back on the ground, he helped lift his comrade, whose face was covered in blood, nursing what looked like numerous other wounds. “Get out of the fuckin’ way! My men need attention.”

“Who got in the final shot? Who took it down?”

“Don’t fuckin’ know, don’t fuckin’ care. All that matters is that I have no more shells to fire and the fuckin’ thing is down, and we took a whole lot of those fuckin’ Faro bots with it.”

“What’s your name, soldier?”

The soldier groaned, clearly annoyed by the questions. She didn’t blame him as he clearly had other priorities. “Shepard. Lieutenant James Shepard. Now kindly fuck off and go film something or someone else. I’ve got men that need attention, and others that need putting in the fuckin’ ground because of those fuckin’ things.”

As the lieutenant walked off with one of his men towards the nearest field tent, the reporter turned back to the camera. “The brave men and women of the United States Army continue their fight against the enemy. Operation: Enduring Victory, and the prospect of the completion of Project Zero Dawn, will result in our inevitable victory over the Faro Plague. But it is thanks to the actions of soldiers such as Lieutenant Shepard and his crew that we are holding back the swarm and will soon push them back towards the sea and beyond, leading to their final destruction.”

Elisabet muted the screen. “General? You hear that?”

“I did.”

“Men and women like him. We’re going to need leaders in the future. I don’t mean politicians. I mean people who are just going to get shit done, pardon my French.”

“Let me pull up his details. Give me a second.” She barely waited five before she was flooded with information as well. “James Shepard, Lieutenant of the Ninth Mechanised Response Brigade,” General Herres stated, “Volunteered and enlisted the moment we made the call. Admitted he wanted to get into tanks if he was going to fight robots. Hmmm. Numerous commendations for bravery already. Single-handedly, with his crew, held off a swarm that was decimating his unit, and would have led to the collapse of his sector.” He paused again. “That wasn’t his first Titan either.”

“How many?” she asked.

“He’s been involved, one way or another, with taking down four.”

“So he’s good?”

“Plenty of brave men and woman out there, Doctor. But I’m guessing you liked what you saw?”

“To be honest, I liked his attitude. No nonsense. We’ll need people like that in the future, should the worst happen.”

“If you want him, I can make the call. Not sure he’ll be happy leaving his unit nor the fight, but if he’s the sort of man you want, I’ll get him.”

She played the video back and watched him. It was the eyes. Not just the colour, which were blue. It was the focus and determination in them. And he clearly had talent, guts, bravery, courage. “Does he have family?”

"Only child. Single. Mother deceased. Father was still alive last he knew, though with everything…”

“Add him to the list, General.”

“I’ll have him taken out of the line and sent to the facility in Colorado. He should arrive within forty-eight hours.”

“Thank you, General.”

“Think it will work?”

“It’s just a back-up plan, General. My focus is plan A, B, C… this is somewhere around plan N. That’s how many contingencies are being put in place for all this.”

“One hundred thousand souls. Is that enough to start again?”

“All calculations suggest that is perhaps double what we need for humanity to slowly start thriving again. But the more people we have, the better.”

“Ten locations?”

“Yes, of ten thousand people. Five thousand men, five thousand women. Isolated pockets around, so hopefully, slowly but surely, they’ll link up once they’re woken up. It will take time but they’ll get it done.”

"Very well. If you think it will work, Elisabet, I’m not going to start doubting you now. Those selected will start arriving immediately.”

“Thank you, General.”

Closing the link, she took one last look at the screen, and those eyes again. He was young, barely capable of growing a decent beard, and he’d already seen horrors she couldn’t even begin to imagine. A few hundred years asleep would either be a blessing or a curse.

* * *

I came to a halt inside the tent, half a dozen paces from the table, feet together, back straight, hand to my forehead. “Sir!”

“At ease, Lieutenant,” the Colonel saluted back, “You’d better take a look at this. Message received from USRC.” That made my eyebrows raise in interest as I stepped forward, taking the datapad to read the message. It was quite simple and had me scratching my head in confusion. Who on earth would know about me there? “I’ve tried what I can to fight it, Lieutenant, but this comes from the top. Whatever they want you for, it must be big.”

“Any idea what for, sir?”

“None. If it comes from the top, it can only be something to do with Zero Dawn. But you must have impressed someone for them to pick your name out.”

“I thought telling a reporter to fuck off… er, respectfully, sir.”

That earned a smirk, at least. “You’d just seen your entire company nearly wiped out, Lieutenant. No-one would have blamed you for shooting him. Would have had to charge you, but we would have understood.”

I looked at the datapad again. “When am I going, sir?”

“Grab your bag and head towards the transport unit. You’ll catch a ride to the nearest LZ. From there, you’ll chopper out to base. Whoever wants you will either meet you there, or at least it’ll be their representatives.” He stood up and offered his hand. “Damn shame to lose you, Lieutenant. Way you handled to Titan…”

“Lost a lot of good people doing it, sir.”

He nodded. “I know, but to stop the plague, we’re paying in blood. But Zero Dawn will help us turn the tide. Getting close to zero hour, when even someone like me is left wondering what chance we have, but as long as we have men and women in uniform fighting, we won’t be giving up.”

I came to attention and saluted again, the colonel wishing me good luck as I turned and headed towards barracks. Walking in to find it relatively empty, I tried not to think about the fact most of those bunks would now remain empty until new recruits arrived. Two of my crew were dead, the third injured and would never be the same. I’d had half a dozen tanks in my command, three destroyed, the other two damaged probably beyond repair. But considering the resources being through by the United States at the enemy, they would be quickly replaced. There was perhaps more manufacturing taking place now since the middle of the twentieth. Tanks. Guns. Bullets and shells. Food. They were the only things being produced.

Managing to grab a seat on a truck departing the forward operational area, I ended up close enough to the LZ that I only needed to walk a few minutes. No idea where the truck was going, but each soldier was armoured and carrying a rifle, so being sent somewhere to fight robots.

The LZ commander was aware of my orders and I was soon sat in a chopper being carried south-west. Looking down, it was clear that the eastern seaboard of the United States was one enormous battlefield. For mile after mile, there was either devastation or the remnants of the latest battle. More resources were being thrown at the Faro Plague than at any time in United States history. Nothing compared in recent times. First time humans were being sent to fight in a decade considering the United States Army had been fully automated in 2055.

What a clusterfuck of a decision that turned out to be.

It was only a short ride before we landed at an airport. No idea which one. I wasn’t told and, by the time I arrived, it was nothing but darkness. Grabbing my bag, I stepped foot onto concrete, looking around for any sign of someone who might be meeting me, when a door opened nearby and three men approached, all in uniform, and one of them was higher ranking than I thought would be meeting someone like me.

I dropped my bag immediately, came to attention and saluted. “Lieutenant Shepard reporting as ordered, sir.”

He waved away my salute. “At ease… Do you prefer James? Jim?”

“Shepard, actually.”

“Okay, Shepard. As of this moment, you are no longer a serving member of the United States military. Consider yourself honorably discharged.”

“Um… sorry, sir?”

“Can’t explain right now, Shepard. A plane will be arriving in,” he looked at his watch, “Fifteen minutes to take us to where you are required. You will be one of the last to arrive. For now, I can’t answer any questions. They can be asked when we arrive. I’m sure you can understand that many events taking place at the moment require secrecy. Those damned robots…” He met my eyes. “Is there anyone you’d like to speak to before we leave? Once we do, communication won’t be possible.”

I shook my head. “No. I got word about my dad…”

“Sorry, Shepard.”

I chuckled, somewhat bitterly. “Still remember what he said while I was growing up. ‘Can’t trust those fuckin’ robots. They’ll turn on us. They’ll fail because humans built them, and we can be monumentally fuckin’ stupid at times’. Old man was right about that. While I’m sure he would have fought if mum was still around, losing her… I wasn’t surprised when I got the news.”

“No-one else?”

“No, sir. Parents are now gone. No siblings. Any other family… I wouldn’t know now.”

“Girlfriend?”

“She died within the first waves, rifle in hand. At least, that’s what I think. Haven’t heard from her since they arrived. She wanted to join the infantry.”

“Shit, son,” one of the men beside him stated.

I shrugged. “I didn’t expect to live this long either, sir. Shame I don’t believe in some big guy upstairs, otherwise I’d think he was looking out for me. No, I’ve just been very lucky.”

We headed inside to grab a coffee, though as soon as the plane landed, the cups were left where they were as we headed out together. I was surprised to see plenty of people already on board, and many of them were not in army fatigues but appeared to be civilians, many of them looking as bewildered as I felt. Taking a seat and belting up, the plane must have taken off within five minutes, left thinking I was one of the last to be collected.

I was, as we spent perhaps an hour in the air at most before landing. Again, no idea where we landed as wherever we did was mostly in darkness, only lights highlighting the runway and then a nearby building. Once at the terminal, we were unloaded off the rear ramp, plenty of questions being raised as we were herded towards nearby buses.

The ride took place in complete darkness, but I knew we were heading into mountains as I felt the bus start to struggle up an incline, and the temperature definitely started to drop. The ride definitely took a few hours, as by the time we stopped, I checked my watch to see it was early morning. Little wonder I was starting to nod off, while nearly everyone else was fast asleep. Before we could disembark, a soldier stepped onto the bus and whistled.

“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to… somewhere in the United States. I’m sure you all have a million and one questions about what you are doing here. Many of them can and will be answered over the next couple of hours. What I need you to do now is follow my orders, as this is a military zone, and while most of you are civilians, it is necessary you follow our instructions to ensure your safety and ours. Now, first thing I need to do is take roll call. Please just call out when I announce your name. Want to make sure we haven’t left someone waiting alone at an airport somewhere.”

After that was finished, thankfully everyone being present and correct, we were herded off the bus and the chill immediately hit us to the bone. Into the side of the mountain was what looked like the blast door of a bunker. With any delay, we were lead towards the blast door, which opened immediately, walking inside to be greeted by warm air and what looked like some sort of assembly area.

I glanced around, figuring there must be a couple of hundred people in total. We were all tired and confused, though no-one was scared. I guess we had trust in everyone around us. I was intrigued as to what we were doing more than anything, still wondering who had picked me out for whatever this was and why. Silence eventually descended as an announcement was made over speakers, stating we would be broken up into groups and taken into orientation.

Good news is that I didn’t have to wait long, my name announced in the first group, led towards an elevator where we descended for what felt like a couple of minutes. The door opened to reveal some sort of bunker. It was warm and illuminated brightly, and I think there was more than one sigh of relief that nothing appeared out of the ordinary. Approached by a woman in a lab coat, brunette hair, blue eyes and a warm smile, I’m sure we all felt confident that we were in good hands.

“Good morning, everyone. My name is Miranda. I’m sure you all have a million questions, but I’m also sure you’re exhausted and would love nothing more than a bite to eat and sleep. Before we can do any of that, I need you to follow me as there is someone that will explain why you are here. Once that is over, we will take you through for processing.”

Our group followed her into a small auditorium, all of us taking a seat before the lights were switched off. A hologram quickly flickered into life. She looked somewhat familiar though I couldn’t place why.

“Good morning, ladies and gentleman. For those who don’t recognize me, my name is Doctor Elisabet Sobeck. Firstly, I’m sure you are all wondering where you are. Now that you’re safe and secure in the bunker, I can reveal that. At this moment, you are several hundred feet underground the Colorado Rocky Mountains. There are a number of good reasons why you are underneath those mountains which will be explained in detail by myself and my colleagues who are there with you.

Before we go into details, I will give you a brief overview of the situation. Humanity is in a fight for its survival. The Faro Plague has spread across the globe, killing billions of humans already. The devastation the swarms have caused not only humans, but most animals species, is almost incalculable. At the current rate, it’s possible the Faro Plague will defeat us within the space of the next few months.

Which leads us to your presence there today. To ensure that humanity prevails and survives, contingency plans have been put in place. Project Zero Dawn and Operation: Enduring Victory should ensure that the Faro Plague is defeated, but if the worst was to happen, then we need plans to ensure that humanity will once again walk the Earth.

What you are in might look like a bunker, perhaps a reminder of a fallout shelter you may have seen in old videos when nuclear armageddon was the main concern of humanity. Instead, you are currently within one of ten bunkers within the continental United States, one thousand people in each, that has been selected to be cryogenically frozen…”

I barely made out what she said after that as the uproar was immediate. I simply sank back in my seat, puffing up my cheeks and blowing out air. I hadn’t expected that, at all. I honestly thought it was some sort of bunker where they hoped we might keep humanity going for a few decades or centuries. Cryogenically frozen? That suggested Doctor Sobeck and others anticipated something a hell of a lot worse lay on the horizon.

After that revelation, nothing else that was said really seemed to matter. We were not given an option, that was for sure. More than one person tried to fight their way out. They were gently subdued, which surprised me. There were plenty of tears. Most people simply sat or wandered around in shock. People in lab coats soon arrived, taking away people. I waited a couple of hours before I was collected, realizing quickly it was a joint medical and psychological examination. Neither bothered me.

“How long am I being frozen for?” I did ask.

“It depends on the outcome of the war,” I was told, “Putting a human body into and then out of stasis is no easy job. Well, into stasis is far easier. We’ve done that before. Taking you out of stasis? That’s the tricky part. I’ll put it bluntly as I’m figuring you can cope with the brutal, honest truth. If Zero Dawn works, you’ll be looking at a minimum of a decade, as we’ll certainly want all of you awake to help start the rebuilding. But it’s agreed you will need to remain under for a time as you can be monitored as we simply have no idea how the human body will react.”

“So we’re guinea pigs?”

“In a manner of speaking, yes.”

“Fair enough. What about if it all goes to shit?”

“Minimum five hundred years.”

“No shit!?”

“I must say, you’re taking this remarkably well, Shepard. Does it not concern you?”

“I’m still pissed you’ve taken me away from my men. But considering I was staring death in the face every day fighting those fuckin’ robots… What sort of situation are we looking at when waking up?”

“To be honest, that is unknown. We can make projections and estimates, but they will mean nothing compared to when you leave this bunker.”

“What about those robots? Will they find us?”

“No. This bunker will be sealed completely once you are all asleep.”

“Are we being assigned roles when we wake up?”

“If it’s a decade, then it’s likely we’ll figure out what you’re best at. Everyone will need to pitch in to help the rebuild. If it’s longer… Well, those remaining are going to need leaders…” She glanced down at her datapad. “Seems like they have you picked out as a natural one.”

“What? Leader?”

She glanced up, a slight grin. “As I said, you seem to have impressed the right people. And I’ve got commendations from those within your unit, company and… well, they are glowing reports.”

“Doubt I’ll be waking up to find us in a war though. Or I bloody hope not anyway.” I sank back into the chair, sighed and ran a hand down my face. “Fuckin’ hell, five hundred years…”

“It’s a long time, Shepard. We all realise that. But surely the alternative is better?”

“Well, I’m either waken in a decade to a world probably still in ruins, or I’m woken up in five hundred years to find god knows only what. Either way, I doubt life will be easy. But…” I shrugged, “I’m here now and can’t leave. So where do I go next?”

I was taken on a short tour with all the others, shown where we would find supplies when we woke up. No doubt they anticipated both being asleep for a decade or half a millennium, as it seemed like they were taking anything and everything into account. Massive crates contained everything we were going to need, not surprised that they were leaving us weapons, as there was every chance we’d be leaving the bunker to find a very hostile world waiting for us, and might be in a fight almost immediately. I didn’t particularly relish the prospect, but had already figured out that quite a few people around me had served, either recently or otherwise.

I remembered what we’d been told though. Everyone was between the age of eighteen to twenty-five. One thousand humans, split half and half by sex. We’d all be checked medically. Everyone had to be capable of producing children, which certainly raised embarrassed grins from quite a few people. What we all noted was that we were all basically ordinary, or at least that’s what I was left thinking, though I assumed we’d all been selected for a good reason.

We were split into small groups of ten and led into small waiting rooms. I was thinking I should catch some sleep, but then made myself laugh, as I was going to be sleeping for a long time shortly. So I poured myself a coffee and sat down, relaxing. I glanced at nine others, five women, four men. Most of them still looked in some sort of shock.

“You army?” one of the men asked.

“Yeah. Was serving on the front until… I think yesterday morning. Lost track of time now.”

“Which unit?”

“9th MRB. To the east, near what remains of New York. Swear the bastards blew it up to taunt us.”

“Seen any of those big Titans?”

“More than I care to remember.”

“Bitches to take down, that’s all I learned.”

“Where’d you serve?”

“16th. Fought alongside those crazy bastards in the 15th. Last I heard, they were holding the line on a wide front to the west. But we could just watch and see the swarm building, aware they’d eventually just hit us with more than we could handle. When word came I was being pulled out, I didn’t know whether to cry with joy and relief or cry at the fact I was leaving friends behind to die.”

“What are our chances?” one of the women asked, “Of defeating the robots?”

My new friend and I shared a glance and shrugged. “Depends on Zero Dawn, to be honest. If that superweapon is what we all hope it is, then surely our chances are high. If it’s not… honestly, we’re kind of fucked,” I replied, “But we won’t go down without a fight, that’s for sure. We’ve been fighting for time. All Sobeck and her people need is time to make sure the weapon will kill them.”

“And then what?”

I shrugged again. “Somehow, we rebuild. And find Faro and put a bullet in his head. Fuckin’ idiot. He’s responsible for all this mess.”

Silence descended as we simply waited for the call. I was starting to drift off when a blonde in a lab coat walked in, announcing it was time. We were led into what looked like a storage area, though I could look up and already see pods in place, I would assume people already or in the process of being put to sleep. There were ten pods waiting for us, one by one led towards the one assigned to us. The brunette who had talked to us early led me to mine.

“Can I keep this in?” I asked, pointing to the device in my ear.

“Of course. The freezing process won’t affect it.”

“How long will it take?”

“Mere seconds. We’ll be freezing everyone at once, though you will be injected with something to keep you calm. Once the seal closes, that’s it.”

“Some would call this a coffin. Though this pod looks slightly more comfortable. What will it feel like?”

“Once you’re asleep, it will pass in what feels like an instant, Shepard. You will have basic brain function at most, ensuring you remain stable and, most importantly, alive. But it’s basically a way of shutting your body down.”

I shrugged again. “I’m sure it’s a lot of science I won’t understand, and this conversation will devolve into gobbledygook and I’ll look like an idiot regardless.”

“Good luck, Shepard. I would say see you later but…”

“I’d ask for a kiss…” She smiled, leaning forward to kiss my cheek before I sat back and relaxed. No point stressing out about it. “Good luck to you, Miranda,” I stated, earning a broader grin before she pressed a button and the lid closed, hearing it hiss shut, clamps in place. It was then picked up by a robotic arm and put in place, looking out to see numerous faces looking back at me. Some were relaxed. Others were definitely panicking.

Soothing music was soon playing through a speaker before I felt a little prick in the back of my neck. Already relaxed, I sank back into the rather comfortable chair. Leather upholstery? They’d certainly gone all out to ensure we were comfortable for however long we’d be inside.

“Ladies and gentlemen, you are about to make history. For those who wish to know the name of this, we have dubbed this Operation: Yggdrasil. For those who know their Norse mythology, it was an immense, sacred tree through which all life was formed and existed. You are one of three roots, interconnected, that will lay the seeds for a new beginning for humanity if the worst was to happen above us.”

“Well, if we’re in Yggdrasil, then Ragnarok must be taking place on the surface,” I muttered. Thank the heavens for my father at times and all his unusual interests. Considering he’d been a history teacher…

“When you hear the beep, please begin counting backwards from ten. You should be asleep by five…”

I counted down, feeling sleepy by seven, and by five I had closed my eyes. I never did hear three…


	2. Chapter 2

I didn’t anticipate being dumped out onto the hard floor, collapsing onto it with a groan. What I didn’t expect to feel was unbelievably cold. Slowly opening my eyes, I was surprised to find the ground beneath me encrusted in ice. And the fact the entire chamber was nearly in darkness was slightly disconcerting as well. I knew things would be different waking up, but within seconds, I was already concerned.

Dragging myself upright, I felt surprisingly okay considering I’d been asleep for god knows how long. Since there was no-one around, I knew the score already. It hadn’t been a decade. It had been longer. No time to worry about that just now as I looked up at all the other pods. The fact every single one was in darkness caused my stomach to drop immediately.

“Fuck,” I muttered.

The entire place was nearly without any real lighting otherwise, only emergency lighting at best. Touching the device at my ear highlighted anything I needed to know. “For once, I’ll actually invoke him. Thank god for technology sometimes,” I muttered.

Turning back to my pod, it was the only one still lit up. The holographic interface was illuminated, and it didn’t take long to find the information I needed. My name, birth date and age, profession, blood type, medical history… and then a report from the psychologist. It was only a few short words, but it told me exactly why I was apparently the only one awake, and I had a bad feeling the only one alive.

To check that theory, I went around from pod to pod. All of them were dark. No signs of life. Despite having no power, I could still gain information thanks to my device, and one word kept repeating itself. Deceased. Deceased. Deceased. All of them. I gave up after ten, as I simply couldn’t climb to check any others.

“Wonder what year it is?” I wondered, clicking through options on my device. And I nearly fainted at what I saw.

July 4th, 3040. Happy Fuckin’ Independence Day. I’d been asleep for a little under one thousand years. Holy shit. Why the fuck has I slept nearly five hundred years longer than planned? What had woken me up to begin with? The place was as dead as everyone inside the pods, though there must have been at least enough power to ensure I was dumped out alive.

At least I was dressed, but I was freezing. Though I’d been asleep for nearly a millennium, it felt like only an hour or so ago that I’d been taken on a tour through the facility. The fact everything was covered in ice was a little disconcerting, but I remembered where everything I would need for the outside.

With the crates were encrusted in ice, I found a tool nearby and managed to smash through, the sound of me hammering on frozen crates echoing in the silence. After opening a few crates, thankful that everything seemed to have frozen in time, I took a few moments to wander the facility, finding most of it in ruins. No sign of any bodies, at least, so it seemed anyone who had been working in it had long since disappeared and died. In fact, I was thinking it had likely been emptied the same day we’d been frozen, and we were left in the lap of the gods. Huh, there I go, thinking about gods again.

Remembering I had brought a bag with me, I found that in a storage room, opening it to find nearly everything in good condition. There was nothing of particular importance, just some spare clothing and a few mementoes. There’d been that little voice in my head when receiving that message, figuring I probably wouldn’t need too much.

Returning to the crates, I grabbed everything I figured I would need. Weapon and ammo, immediately changing my mind to weapons. Supply belt. Survival gear. Food and water. Everything was there, the food out of date MREs, but it would be better than nothing, as I had no idea what I’d find on the surface.

Making sure I wasn’t carrying too heavy a load, I wandered back through the silent facility. There was nothing I could do for everyone else in the pods. I had a feeling they’d all been dead a very long time. I remembered what Sobeck had said. The technology was in its infancy. We were basically guinea pigs. Chances of survival were fifty-fifty at best. Either way, we would be the pioneers of humanity. If I was the only survivor here, I did wonder if anyone else survived at the other facilities.

It was only when I came to the elevator that I realised I was fucked. No power meant no elevator. The massive door was open, at least, and any questions I had about leaving were answered by the fact the compartment had long since collapsed.

“Well, how the fuck am I getting out of here then?” I asked no-one except myself, voice echoing in the silence.

Heading back to the supply room, I grabbed some rope and found a grapple. As I said, I’m fairly sure they thought of everything, perhaps even the idea that we would end up stuck down there for a time. Grabbing a few other bits of gear I’d need to climb my way out, I headed back to the shaft and looked up. I couldn’t see a thing, only darkness. Attaching a small light to my jacket, I switched it on so at least I’d have at least a little light.

Then I got to climbing, throwing the grapple up and making sure it was secure before I started to ascend. No idea how long it took me to climb the shaft, but by the time I was at the top, my arms and legs were screaming at me, I was absolutely drenched in sweat, falling onto my back at the top, feeling the ice even through the jacket, but I needed a few moments to catch my breath.

“Well, that’s a fuckin’ tomb,” I muttered, “Poor bastards.”

I remembered upstairs was fairly small, just the assembly area, which was deserted and covered in ice. And the thick bunker door was still in place. I was worried I was definitely going to be stuck, but the emergency power must have applied to the door. Approaching it, a sensor started up and scanned me a couple of times.

“Halt for identification. Scanning… scanning… Recognised. Lieutenant James Shepard. Do you wish to depart the facility?”

“Er, yes please.”

Without another word, with a loud groan, and plenty more noises that suggested the door had rested in position for a very long time, it slowly but surely opened to reveal the outside world, perhaps for the first time in over nine hundred years. The first thing I felt was the cold. It was bitter, thick snow lying on the ground. Walking through the bunker door, it didn’t move as I walked forward. There was only a road leading off to my right, though to call it a road now was a lie. Nearly a thousand years of harsh weather had left it a crumbled ruin.

Gazing out into the distance, I had arrived in darkness so nothing looked familiar. With bag strapped around my chest, weapon over my shoulder, I put a hat on my head to keep myself warm as I did up the zip of my jacket and started the walk down the mountain. No idea what time it was, not that I think it really mattered a thousand years later.

Walking the path took most of the day, as by the time I reached level ground, the sun was starting to set. The vegetation seemed different to that I expected. In fact, the region was rather barren. The weather was still bitterly cold though. To my surprise, I found a campsite close by, the first sign of any civilisation, or at least a remnant of it. Checking the logs, they were certainly freshly cut, and cut in a manner that suggested only a man or woman could have done it.

Getting a fire started wasn’t too difficult, thankful for those lessons my father had given me. After my mother had died, he didn’t want to spend time in the house. Too many reminders. We spent most of my teenage years travelling from place to place when I wasn’t in school, living in the outdoors. He’d served in the army himself until he saw the writing on the wall and retired. We’d go camping nearly every weekend, and when I was old enough, he took me hunting.

What I’d learned is that my father was a jack of all trades. I would have thought we would have used a rifle or something. Instead, we were archers. I thought the idea hilarious until he explained his reasoning.

“Shooting a rife at five hundred yards? Yes, it takes skill, but all you do is line it up and shoot. Maybe the wind will bother you, but that’s about it. Now a bow and arrow? That is when the hunter and hunted meet in real battle. To get the perfect kill, you have to get in close, and that’s when the deer will sense you. It’ll smell something is amiss. It will hear you if you make the slightest misstep. Even your breathing needs to be tempered. The deer knows it’s being hunted. And when you fire the arrow, it will almost know it’s coming, but it’s already too late. This is how man used to hunt, thousands of years ago, and they’d be hunting things far fiercer than a fuckin’ deer, that’s for sure.”

I was left thinking many of the lessons the old man had given me during those years would need to be applied going forward. A thousand years had passed. Fuckin’ hell…

Sleeping was surprisingly easy. It had been a long day since waking up, and though I’d been in cryo, I was using muscles for the first time in a while. As I lay there, I opened my Focus and checked through all the things I kept stored on it. Old photos, aware now that everyone was long dead. I lay there and listened to some music, wondering if those that survived still had music. I wondered if we’d just been plain forgotten about. That idea amused me, that we’d been put to sleep, Zero Dawn had been perfected, the robots defeated, and in all the hullabaloo that followed, they just plain forgot about us.

Certainly gave me a good chuckle before I drifted off to sleep. Better than thinking of any other alternative anyway. The idea of being the last human alive on Earth…

Continuing on the next day, I eventually found a river, enjoying the taste of real cold water. I’d opened one of the MREs for dinner, and then another for breakfast. It was edible, at least, though I’d rather some real food sooner rather than later. There was no sign of any civilisation, no roads or buildings, but at least there was vegetation and I could see trees in the distance.

As I walked along, I started to sense I was being observed. Just that sixth sense most people have that they feel they are being watched. Unsure if it was man or beast, I carefully and slowly started to take my weapon from my shoulder. I kept walking, keeping my eyes straight ahead, trying to appear relaxed…

When I turned with weapon raised, I was looking at four people aiming weapons back at me. When I say weapons, I mean bow and arrows. I was startled for a moment, taking into account what they were wearing within the next couple of seconds. I was still dressed in the same army fatigues I’d been wearing when leaving the front. “These are the Sacred Lands, home of the Nora. Strangers are not welcome here,” one of them stated.

“Transgression is usually punishable by death,” another added, “Consider yourself lucky at this time that we have welcomed the Carja under a flag of truce.”

“Thank fuck you speak English at least,” I retorted. No idea what anything else meant. At least they spoke the language.

The four shared a quick glance, arrows still aimed at me. “What is that you’re holding?” he asked.

“A weapon, just like yours. Prepared to fire yours at someone just walking along?”

“I’ve seen no such weapon before. And our arrows will pierce you before whatever your weapon can do.”

“Want to take that chance? Look, pal, I just woke up after a very long nap…”

Before any of us could say anything, or do anything that we might regret, an almighty explosion nearby grabbed our attention. The four in front of me lowered their weapons immediately. “That was near Mother’s Watch,” one of them stated quietly, an unexpected fear in their tone.

“The Proving!” another exclaimed.

“Bet it was that outcast. She was always bound to be trouble,” a third muttered.

The four gave me another glance then carefully backed away, keeping their arrows pointed down. I lowered my weapon immediately as they disappeared into the trees. Gazing into the distance, the explosion was closer than I thought it was, smoke rising from a nearby peak. I walked barely another five minutes before I came to a wooden gate and fence, that seemed to encircle a certain section of forest. Immediately obvious was the fact an attack had taken place. What grabbed my attention was not the dead and injured humans, but the weird looking machines littered around. If I didn’t know any better, they were representations of animals I knew rather well…

“The fuck are these?” I asked myself more than anyone.

“Who… are you?” one of the injured men asked nearby. Crouching near him, he’d clearly been shot by at least two arrows, considering they were still sticking out of him. “Are you one of them?”

“One of who?”

“Don’t know. Didn’t recognise them. But they attacked us before heading towards… the explosion… it happened near All-Mother Mountain.”

“All what mountain?”

He cast me a curious glance. “You are not Nora. Are you Carja? There was meant to be a truce…”

“I’m American.”

“I don’t know who they are. Where are you from?”

“I have a feeling you wouldn’t know where even if I told you.” I sighed and muttered under my breath as I did my best to help him, but he was bleeding badly and I didn’t the sort of medical supplies he needed.

“Stranger, if you want to help us, you need to get to Mother’s Watch and let them know what’s going on. The attack here… must be the same people…”

“I’ll get you some help, or I’ll try anyway.”

I left him where he was, having help as best I could with the rudimentary supplies I had, as I passed through the gate to be greeted by quite the scene. It was rather beautiful, and certainly seemed quite peaceful at the same time. No sign of any technology, but I was already left thinking the world I was now in was nothing like the world I’d left behind. So what I needed to find out was what happened. Humans were still around so… what happened?

I barely walked half an hour before I was stopped again by a patrol. And I learned rather quickly that these Nora were suspicious of outsiders, as I soon found both arrows and spears pointed in my direction. “For fuck…” I stated. I could swing my rifle at them, but I don’t think they would have recognised it anyway, and I didn’t particularly want to shoot them.

“Who are you to enter the Embrace?” a female asked. Dark skin, black hair, not particularly tall. Wearing what I would have called tribal clothing. Lots of leather and fur, but also a few what looked like metallic pieces. But it was like a history book come to life.

I thumbed behind me. “Came through the gate. Doors were wide open after someone fucked up your people.”

I found two spears jabbed at my face. “Carja!” one of the men cried, “You attacked us!”

I raised my hand, moving one of the spears from my face. “No. American.”

“What is an American?” the first woman asked.

“Well, I am one, and you’re currently standing in what is, or maybe what was once the United States of America.” Blank looks returned, so that boded well. “Look, your men at the gates are in a bad way. Couple of them injured badly, the others are dead. One of them asked me to head in to find someone to help them, said something about Mother’s Watch.”

Spears poked at me again. “What do you know of Mother’s Watch?”

“Absolutely nothing. First time I heard of it today. You’re the Nora, right? No fuckin’ idea who you are either. Look, I told some of your people before, I’ve just woken up after a long nap…”

As the spears were pointed, the woman who was asking questions stepped closer, looked me up and down. “I have not seen this clothing before.” She looked down at my feet. “What are those?”

“Military boots.”

“And that on your shoulder? Is that a weapon?”

“It is. Shoots bullets.” Nothing but blank looks again. “It goes bang.”

“Firespitter,” one of them whispered.

“In a manner of speaking, I guess.”

The woman circled around me before she stopped and I felt her finger on my cheek, near my ear. “A Focus?” she asked, hearing surprise in her voice, “Only one other person I know has one of those.”

“The outcast,” another stated.

“Aloy was at the Proving with the others, on the mountain.”

I had no idea what the hell they were talking about, but the fact I had a Focus, though we’d generally called them something else a thousand years ago, certainly piqued their interest. There was no missing their suspicion at the same time. As I was guarded by the two with spears, the other four walked away and talked amongst themselves. They kept glancing in my direction, curious and suspicious all at once, no doubt arguing over what to do with me. If they wanted to march me back to the gate, so be it.

They eventually returned, the same woman taking control. “You were approaching to get help for our people?”

“Yes.”

“Hmmm. That is more than we would expect from anyone else. But the Focus. That will be of interest. You say you are American, yes?” I nodded. “We have not heard of that tribe. Where is your tribe located?”

I sighed. Trying to explain would be too difficult. So I went with, “East. We’re in Colorado and I’m from further east.”

“Co-lo-rado?” the woman asked, “Where is that?”

“Never mind,” I muttered, “Look, am I free to go or…”

“You will come with us. Dresh, Korm. Go to the gate and check this stranger’s story. He might be telling the truth if the explosion does relate. Stranger, you will come with us to Mother’s Watch. The Matriarch’s can decide what to do with you.”

“He is a stranger,” one of the others hissed.

“He has a Focus, same as Aloy, same as that man we saw. He will provide the answers we seek.”

“Yeah, not fuckin’ likely,” I muttered under my breath. But, with a prod in the back from a spear, I was marched through the wilderness. To be honest, it was all rather idyllic. Little wonder these Nora had made themselves at home here. But I was already putting two and two together in my mind. The clothing. The weapons. The lack of technology. Something wasn’t right. They were little more than hunter-gatherer’s. I remembered my history lessons, all the documentaries I’d watch with my father.

But the fact someone from these Nora had the same device as me? That just led to plenty of questions, such as how did someone who was likely as backwards as all these people manage to figure out how to work it. Maybe appearances were deceiving.

Smoke continued to billow from the mountaintop nearby as I was marched towards the gates. And it became apparent that something was wrong, as smoke didn’t only billow from the mountaintop, but it appeared the settlement itself had been attacked, the gates wide open, even more injured Nora lying around. Led through the gates, I was immediately cast with suspicious glances as a man came marching towards us.

“What are you doing, Jama? Who is this stranger?”

“Hold your tongue, Kerst.”

“We’ve just been attacked! We have no idea where they are, if they’ll come back here…”

“I am aware of that. The smoke up there suggests something is amiss. What happened?”

“That we’re still trying to piece together. All I know is that someone, or some group, attacked the Proving. No idea if there are any survivors.” He sighed. “Why did you bring him, Jama?”

“He has a Focus. The Matriarch’s will surely be interested in why this stranger just happens to appear now…”

“Only one other…” I was used to suspicious glance, but his was almost hateful. “Carja?”

“American.”

I was used to blank looks, at least. “I have never heard of that tribe. No-one here has.” He ran a hand down his face. “We don’t have time to deal with him right now, Jama. Throw him in a hut, put guards on the door. We’ll deal with him when all this is sorted out. Why he’s even been brought here is beyond me. He is a trespasser.”

“But the Matriarch’s…”

“We’ll talk to them later. We have dead of our own to deal with first, Jama.”

I’d had a chance to look around and it was certainly a settlement of a sort, with plenty of small houses, appearing to be well-built and rather sturdy. I was escorted towards one in particular by Jama and a couple of her companions. Pointed to enter a small room, at least there was a bed. “We will take your things,” she said, holding out a hand.

“I’d rather you didn’t take my rifle. You’ll hurt yourself or someone else.”

She just glared at me, hand outstretched. With a sigh, I clicked the rifle into safe, ejected the magazine, placing that into my duffel bag, before handing it over. “That thing at your waist, too.”

Taking off the belt, I did the same thing with the pistol, ensuring the chamber was empty, just in case they got ideas. Once everything was handed over, she simply turned and marched out. “I want all that stuff back,” I called out, though I was ignored as the door was closed. I gave it a few seconds before testing it. There was no lock I could see, but the door wouldn’t budge, and I assumed people guarded the door.

At least they let me keep my Focus so I could at least relax back on the bed and pass the time. For such a small device, they were utterly brilliant little pieces of technology, allowed me to do basically anything I wanted. I doubted the holonet still existed, so that was out, but I could keep music stored on it, hours upon hours of different music. So I allowed myself to close my eyes and just relax.

I counted seven nights passed by in the end. Sleeping wasn’t easy considering I’d spent a thousand years in the fridge. I was brought food twice a day, cooked meat, which I appreciated, and also a couple of soft fruits that I recognised. They were careful, even when bringing that to me, one person carrying a plate, the other two watching me carefully with a spear in hand. I stayed where I was until they backed out of the room. I had no idea why I scared them so much, but I had a feeling I wasn’t the first stranger to appear on their lands.

After seven mornings, on the eighth I was brought food again, this time accompanied by the same woman who’d done most of the talking when I’d run into her little group. “What is your name, stranger?”

“Full name? Military rank?” She cocked her head in a way that suggested she didn’t understand everything I just said. “Most people call me Shepard. We’ll go with that.” I met her eyes. “Why are you afraid of me?”

“We do not trust outsiders. They bring us nothing but harm.”

“I’m not here to harm anyone. I’m looking for answers.”

“How did you get here?”

“I walked.” She looked at me with a glare, expecting more. I sighed, running hand through my hair. “Okay, I’ll put it so you can understand. I’ve been asleep for a long time. I woke up a few days ago now in a bunker. I managed to climb my way out, started walking. I ended up talking to some of your people nearby, walked through the gate, then I ran into you. Now I’m here.”

“How long did you sleep for? What do you mean?”

“I’d say around nine hundred and forty years or so. I sort of slept in. Should have…”

“Old One,” she whispered, her eyes rather wide, and I sensed… fear… “You… you are an Old One!”

Before I could utter another word, she hurried back to the door, hearing garbled words once it was shut, and I was left alone. Old One? What did she mean by that? I didn’t have all that long to think about it though. Twenty minutes later, the door burst open, the same woman beckoning for me to follow, undoubted fear but also curiosity. “Come, come. The Matriarch’s wish to speak to you in All-Mother Mountain.”

With a shrug, I followed her out into cool mountain air, following her up a path, walking past more small houses, before we approached an entrance which I knew had been a bunker, much like the entrance to the bunker I’d walked out of recently. Walking inside, there was no power again, but it was illuminated by what seemed to be millions of candles.

“This is a sacred place,” she whispered, “Outsiders are never allowed. But if you are an Old One…”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“The Matriarch’s will speak to you. They can explain.”

I had a million and one questions myself about what the purpose of this bunker. I had a feeling these people hadn’t been in cryo. If they had, I assured myself they wouldn’t have seemed so… backward, putting it nicely. So how had humanity regressed to such a point? Nothing was making sense. The fact humans were alive, and the fact I’d seen other animals about, and I recognised turkey when I ate it, left me wondering just what the hell had happened. The superweapon of Zero Dawn must have worked so… I groaned. I wasn’t smart enough to figure it all out just yet.

We eventually entered a large chamber and another door lay ahead, easy to see that it was a sealed door. What lay behind it, even I didn’t know. In front of us were four women. Three were dressed in the sort of garb that I assumed they were the Matriarch’s. The fourth was a redheaded woman wearing the same sort of clothing as my companion. All four turned to look at me.

“Is this the American?” one of the Matriarch’s asked.

“Yes.” Jama laid a finger near my ear. “And he has the Focus. And… he might be an Old One.”

The Matriarch’s whispered amongst themselves. The redhead simply gazed at me, mouth slightly agape. She looked vaguely familiar… and also very pretty. She took a step towards me before turning her head to show me her Focus. “Where did you get yours? Did you find it?”

“No, I’ve had mine since I was a child. My father bought it for me.”

Her brow creased in confusion. “You bought it? Who is selling them? How many shards did they ask for such a thing?”

Before I could answer, one of the Matriarch’s stepped towards me. “What is your name, stranger?”

“Shepard. Let’s just go with that.”

“I’m Teersa, one of the Matriarch’s of….”

“He should not be here,” one of the other Matriarch’s hissed, “He is an Old One. Cast down by All-Mother.”

“If he is an Old One, he may have the answers we seek, Lansra. All-Mother may listen to his pleas, if he begs for forgiveness.”

“This is folly, much like allowing the outcast into this mountain. The All-Mother will ignore him like she has ignored everyone else. He will not be worthy. The Old Ones died long ago because of their transgressions against All-Mother.”

“Aloy won the Proving, Lansra. She is now Nora.” She offered her hand. “Come with me, Shepard.” Taking her hand, she led me towards the giant steel door. I didn’t recognise it at all. I assumed it was some sort of bunker or vault from when we battled the plague, but for what reason it was built, I couldn’t even begin to comprehend. Though if these Nora were revering it as some sort of god, perhaps they had come from within it a long time ago. “Do you recognise this at all?”

“No, I don’t. Never seen a door like it before.”

“Jama told us your story. Did you come from within a mountain yourself?”

“I mean… sort of, I guess… Look, it’s going to be really difficult to explain and I’m not sure you’ll understand everything I tell you.”

“Are you an Old One?” the redhead asked, I assume she being Aloy.

“What do you mean by that?”

“As in… are you from before? Are you from the old world? The Metal World?”

“What she means is are you responsible for the machines that now plague our land?” one of the other Matriarch’s spat, I think that was Lansra.

I scratched my heads. “I’m not sure. What machines are you talking about?”

“Can you open this door?” Teersa asked, hearing a rather hopeful tone in her voice. Unlike the other two, I had a feeling her opinion of the Old One’s may have differed.

“Look, Teersa… I’m going to level with you here. I’ll level with all of you. According to my Focus, it’s currently July 13th, 3040. I’ve been awake for around nine days or so after being asleep for a very long time. The world I’ve woken into is like nothing I expected. In fact, I’ve woken up nearly five hundred years later than planned. No idea why, but at the moment, that doesn’t matter. All I want is answers. What happened? Why is everything like it is? Where is everything and everyone? Why are you living as hunter-gatherers instead of living in a technologically advanced world, a world we should have left behind?”

“You are an Old One,” Aloy whispered, almost reverently. I guess I was the first one they’d ever met.

I took a few steps back, came to attention. “My name is James Jonathan Shepard. Lieutenant of the Ninth Mechanised Response Bridge, United States Army. I was born on December 29th, 2033. At the time I was put on ice, I was twenty-two years old. At the time of waking up nine or so days ago, I’d been asleep for approximately nine hundred and seventy-five years. When I was put on ice, we were fighting the plague in the hope a superweapon would save the day. The fact you are alive would suggest, somehow, it worked, but at what cost?”

“You don’t know what happened?” Aloy asked.

I shook my head. “I was on ice before the end occurred, one way or another.”

“We don’t actually know what happened either.”

“All-Mother struck down the Old Ones and the Metal Devil for turning away,” one of the other Matriarch’s stated, “You being here is blasphemy. You shouldn’t be here.”

I could have disagreed, but I had a feeling it wouldn’t make a different. Aloy gestured towards the door. “The answers you seek might lie inside, but we can’t get in either. No-one can.”

“Can you get inside?” Teersa asked me, “Would All-Mother listen to an Old One after all this time? Maybe if you were to offer forgiveness…”

“I find it highly unlikely. I was probably put on ice quite a while before whatever happened at the end.”

“Do you want answers?” Aloy asked.

“If you woke up nearly a thousand years later, with no idea what happened, wouldn’t you?”

“What were you before?” Teersa asked, “What did you do in the world of metal?”

“A soldier,” I replied, earning blank looks, so I had to think of what they’d understand. “Er, a warrior? Fighter?”

“A brave?” Aloy asked hopefully, “You fought the machines?”

“I did, though in a tank.” More blank looks. I would have sighed, but I guess I couldn’t blame them. “We fought the machines inside other machines. It’s… difficult to explain without being able to show you.”

“Can you help us? Can you help Aloy?” Teersa asked, “The Nora need help, Shepard. If an Old One can help us…”

“It is bad enough Aloy… The Old One will surely bring about our destruction. All-Mother will cast the Nora aside like she did the Old Ones,” one of the other Matriarch’s stated.

I ignored her, looking at Teersa before asking, “What can I help with? And how?”

That’s when they explained what happened. The visit. The Proving. The explosion. How Aloy was involved in everything, and perhaps why she’d been the target. And why they were so interested in my sudden appearance, wearing a Focus all of my own. Considering I didn’t have any real options, the only thing I could do was agree to help, however I could. I turned back to Jama and definitely felt the grin form.

“I’d like my stuff back, please.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think Teersa would be more accepting of an Old One appearing than anyone else except Aloy, just like she accepted the appearance of Aloy herself. I’ve just finished playing the game for the first time, and I adored Teersa, who was so understanding compared to the others. She knew the truth about her straight away, a gift from the All-Mother.
> 
> I’m figuring the other Matriarch’s… saying they would be displeased at the appearance of an Old One would be an understatement, considering what they believed happened to them. Tried keeping Shepard’s arrival as close to Nora lore as possible but, to make it work, I guess I’d have to make them a little more accommodating than perhaps they would be.


	3. Chapter 3

Despite the Faro robots, basic training had been anything but, and those of us who had applied for and managed to be accepted as officers, the training had been rigorous as it was far shorter than normal. Intensive training, incredibly long days, that left us exhausted by the time we fell into bed each night. The simple things were drilled into us over and over again. After that, anything else was rather easy.

Aloy watched me with interest as I checked over my rifle. The last thing any soldier wanted was for it to jam or misfire in the midst of battle. We were all trained so we could basically take it apart and put it back together blindfolded, and we cared for our rifle like we would our significant other.

"I have not seen such a weapon before," she said, "What is it called?"

"A rifle. Every warrior carried one in the war, even those of us like myself. If our machine stopped working, we would need to retreat and fire, or fire and retreat. Either way, we needed something to protect ourselves."

"Is it a weapon of the world before?"

"It is. I'm guessing there are not many of those weapons around?"

"No. And that other one at your hip?"

"Called a pistol. It's a small version of a rifle. Doesn't pack as big a punch but it can still kill. More of a last resort weapon, if you don't have a knife."

"Do you know how to use a bow?"

I smirked as I said, "I do. You're lucky I'm the Old One you met. Most others wouldn't have had a clue."

"Show me, Old One."

Putting the magazine back into the rifle, I clicked it safe and placed it on the bed next to my duffel bag as I followed Aloy outside. There was a shooting range nearby, Aloy picking up a bow and a quiver of arrows. The arrows were basic but the bow was made of metal. I gave it a once over as she explained that they hunted machines for parts and supplies. When I looked at her, I figured out what she meant, as there was metal within all the leather and fur.

It had been quite a while since I'd last used a bow, but it was just a case of remembering the advice from my father, and like everything, it was like riding a bike. You never really forgot. Most of it was just muscle memory. The first arrow missed the target completely, glancing at Aloy, who smirked, so I figured she thought I was pulling her leg. The second arrow hit the target, barely. The next three arrows got closer and closer until the sixth hit the bullseye.

"Room for improvement. The first arrow should hit the middle. Each arrow that should be as close as the first."

"It's been a thousand years since I last used one."

"You should take a bow, just in case. Does your rifle fire arrows?"

I smiled, as laughing would have just been rude and a sign of arrogance. She simply didn't know. "No, my rifle fires something different. Smaller than an arrow, but far deadlier… well, I haven't seen your arrows in action yet, but my rifle will fire far quicker than your bow."

"Good. We shall leave tomorrow morning. Do you know anything about the area?"

"No. When I arrived before, it was in darkness. When I woke up, I just started walking and eventually ended up here."

"We must go to a place called Meridian. It is a great city of the Carja. Have you heard of them?"

"In passing. I was accused of being one more than once. I think I was lucky to be brought here alive, to be honest."

She smiled. "We find trusting outsiders difficult. It is only thanks to the truce with the Carja as they sent an emissary that they didn't kill you immediately."

"What's your problem with the Carja?"

"Our history with the Carja is difficult and bloody. But now we are friends of a sort, trying to heal the old wounds. But the answers to our questions may start in Meridian, so it is to there we must travel. We leave at first light. I'll knock on the door."

I watched her walk to the door before I asked, "I thought you'd have more questions."

She glanced back with a smile. Yeah, she was very pretty when she did that. "We will be walking for many days, Shepard. I think I'll be asking a lot of questions on the way."

"Do you normally accept people so quickly?"

"No. But you are an Old One… if what you say is true."

"You doubt me?"

"Not at the moment. At least, I don't. And Teersa will give you a chance to prove yourself. Anyone else? They believe the myths on what happened to you and the other Old Ones. I've always been sceptical about that." She paused before asking, "I would like to see this bunker, you call it, where all the rest are."

"It's a tomb, Aloy," I whispered, "Full of dead people."

"How did you survive?"

"Add that to the list of questions I wouldn't mind being answered." I sighed. "If you really want to see it, finding it won't be too difficult. Two days walk at most. High in one of the mountain ranges. Once I find the road, it'll be easy."

I ate with the rest of the village around the campfire that evening, though I was still viewed with suspicion. I had a feeling the rest had not been told that I was an Old One, anyone else who did know being sworn to secrecy, being told that I was referred to as 'the American'. Considering it was technically still the truth, I just went with it, though asked if anyone wanted to speak to me, they could just call me Shepard. But mostly it was Aloy who kept me company, noticing many still didn't approach to talk with her either. I'd heard enough mutters about her being an outcast that suggested a history with her she perhaps didn't really want to talk about either.

Woken the next morning by a bang on the door, I was already dressed and prepared to go, opening the door to find she was ready to depart. The sun was already rising as we walked towards the gates, which were closed, and did not open as we stood by them. Aloy just sighed as she stepped back. "Resh, can you open the gate?"

When there was no response, she asked me to wait as she climbed the ladder. I heard raised voices with a few seconds, mostly from Resh, and he wasn't particularly complimentary of Aloy. All I wanted to do was get out and find the answers I wanted, and didn't need some arsehole with a grudge holding me up. Climbing the stairs, his gaze turned from her to me, nothing but a sneer.

"And here is the American," he spat, "Another wretch that will bring nothing but death to our tribe. Ever since we let the outcast in, we have been hit by nothing but misfortune."

"You clearly don't want her here, nor myself being honest, so why don't you just do yourself a fuckin' favour and open the gate? Then we'll be on our way, and you can return to throwing what minimal weight you have around."

"I am the War-Chief…"

"Sona is the War-Chief," Aloy retorted.

"Sona is not here, having left on some fools' errand, so I'm left in charge. And what I…"

"You're a fuckwit and a fool," I said, earning a withering glance in reply, "And I really don't have time for your shit. So unless you want an example of just how my rifle works, open the fuckin' gate now."

He turned back to her. "Someone should have shot you at the Proving. If even one of them had been true Nora, they would've put an arrow in your back!"

I put a fist straight into his gut for that, leaning close to his ear. "Say something like that again, and the last thing you will see in your miserable fuckin' life will be the barrel of my pistol," I whispered.

He staggered back, not quite able to stand straight. I exchanged a glance and a nod with Aloy. She probably wanted to hit him but couldn't. Nothing was going to stop me hitting him. I recognised him immediately, as he'd had some choice words for me previously when I'd been led into the settlement, though I'd just ignored him at the time. Now he just irritated me. "I am a Seeker, anointed by the High Matriarchs," she said, "So open the gate, and I will be on my way."

"The sooner you're both gone from here, the better," he muttered, but he was smart enough to give the order.

Climbing down the ladder, we gathered at the gate as it was opened, only to be greeted by something I would have wished to never see again. Aloy and I both immediately retreated at the sight of the machine. "Corruptor!" she cried.

"Corruptor?" I wondered aloud, "It's a fuckin' Scarab! A fuckin'… Oh, what's the point, you won't understand…"

I opened fire immediately, causing all the Nora around to duck, covering their ears, as I let rip a stream of expletives. Knew exactly where to fire, though, aiming for the grenade and spike launchers, as they would be deadly to anyone exposed. Take those out, its attacks were severely limited.

The Nora grew quickly accustomed to my rifle, as we spread out as more machines entered the settlement, amazed to see arrows just rain down on them. "What the fuck are those?" I yelled.

"Striders!" Aloy shouted back.

Looked like a hornless bull, well… a cow then, a small cow, or maybe a small horse. Whatever the hell it was, it was aggressive, heading straight for a trio of exposed Nora. I swung and aimed towards it, a short burst of bullets. That made it look towards me, charging immediately. Another short burst of bullets, straight into the head, put it down.

Taking cover, I changed magazines, tapping it against my head, momentarily forgetting I wasn't wearing a helmet, before slamming it into place and resumed firing. With a limited number of bullets, each short burst had to be carefully placed, and I figured that, sooner or later, I was going to run out. The Striders went down remarkably easy with a short burst of bullets, I guess not used to being attacked by ancient technology.

As for the Corruptor, Aloy was peppering it with arrows, each one finding its intended mark. She was… remarkable, and the fact she managed to put it down with just a few arrows was… incredible. Checking the Striders were all dead, I approached her as the other Nora gathered around. "Did you see what it was doing? A demon!" one of them said.

"But Aloy killed it," another said, "The demon can be defeated."

Aloy looked at me. "You've seen these before, haven't you?" I nodded, and gave myself an all over shake. I had hoped never to see one again. Well, one was fine. Tens, hundreds, thousands…. I didn't want to see that number of them again. An army of them marching along, knowing that no matter what you did, they couldn't be stopped conventionally… "What do you know about them?"

"I've got to be honest, I spent most of my time killing them rather than trying to understand them. They were merciless killing machines, Aloy. All they cared about was slaughter. They consumed… everything. And they couldn't be stopped. Put one down, two, three, four… more simply replaced them."

She crouched down by the machine. "Somehow, these have returned. I've seen one of these before, but they are doing something to the other machines. Turning them hostile towards us, humans I mean. Apparently, before I was born, the machine was placid. We could hunt them and not be harmed. Something has happened to turn them hostile. Now we must travel carefully between settlements. But they would never attack us like this, not without one of these machines doing something to them."

I watched as she poked and prodded, glancing to see a few curious Nora gathering around, wondering what she was going to find. She made a noise as she latched onto something, pulling it out. Turning towards me with a grin, all I could do was shrug at what she showed me. "Recognise this?"

"Nope. As I said, didn't spend all that much time studying them. Little point at the time."

She touched her Focus and turned whatever it was over in her hands. Then she looked at me, a broader grin. "This is how it does it, Shepard. This… thing, whatever it is, allows the Corruptor to influence the other machines."

"Your Focus showed that?"

"Yours doesn't?"

"I'd have to go through all sorts of menus. My Focus was or is for civilian use. Your one might be different."

She stood up and walked towards me. "I'm thinking that… if I attach this to my spear, it might allow me to take control of a machine, turn it peaceful. It might even prove to be an ally and help defend us. What do you think?"

"Best way to test a theory is a practical exam." Another blank look, so I gestured at a dead Strider. "Find one of those out there and see if you can override it."

"Think it will work?"

I shrugged. "Don't know, Aloy. You're not talking to someone who excelled at the sciences." I glanced around before stepping closer, lowering my voice. "I might be an Old One to you, and I'm sure we're more myth than anything by now, but most of us were incredibly ordinary people, doing the same as you. Trying to survive."

Still, she seemed to have an idea in that mind of hers, as she put her spear on the ground, attached the cylinder to it, then wrapped a thin piece of rope around both to keep it safe. I didn't know if that was how it would work or not, but I wasn't going to start questioning her thought process just yet. It was already obvious she had intelligence and had already shown curiosity in regards to myself.

Suggesting we really should go, I grabbed the gear I'd dropped as we fought the machines, and after a brief goodbye shared with people that seemed to know her, we walked through the gates and out into the wilderness. Aloy explained we were still in Nora territory, and would be until we'd left the Embrace. Once past there, we are still within the Sacred Land until we pass through into what is considered 'tainted land.' I'm sure she could have explained what that all meant, but it wasn't that important right now.

What she wanted to do first was test her spear to see if the override cylinder she'd taken would work. I was dubious at best, but she seemed confident in it working. We didn't have to walk far before she was gesturing for us to crouch, taking cover in some long grass, as she pointed ahead. "Striders," she whispered, "But they are not always the concern. See the little machine around it?"

"Yeah. What is that?"

"We call them Watchers because, well, they're always watching. Do they look familiar?"

"No. Not really. Nothing like those Striders anyway. Despite being machines, there's familiarity there. Whoever is building them seems to know that we'd recognise them, at least. Though why build them at all? Where are all the real animals?"

"You have lots of questions."

"Hmmm."

"Wait here. I'll see if it works."

Before I could reply, she moved. She was fast. Silent. And rather graceful. To be honest, she was already a little distracting at moments like that. The machines had no idea she was getting ever closer, as she waited for the Watcher to patrol past her before she made her move. Jamming the spear into the rump of the Strider, she waited and waited, and that's when I got a little anxious…

But it worked. It actually bloody worked! The eye colour of the Strider changed, and she wasted no time doing the same thing to another one. That's when I moved, as the Watcher was starting to return, moving into cover behind a tree, aiming carefully as its head moved left and right. Once I was sure, I put a couple of bullets into its yellow light. The Watcher dropped, and the third Strider was startled. I thought it would charge towards me. Instead, it lifted its head… then ran in the opposite direction.

Walking towards Aloy, the two Striders appeared rather docile. "Thanks," she said, "It takes a little longer than I anticipated."

"My bullets seem to do quite substantial damage. Couple of bullets at most."

"A couple of well-aimed arrows will usually put down a Strider and similar machines. A Watcher I'll generally try and eliminate with my spear." She glanced at my rifle. "Do you have many of what you call bullets?"

"No. I certainly can't be wasteful."

"Might have to end up using a bow in the end."

"Anyway, now that you've made these docile, what are your plans?"

A rather cute smile appeared on her face. "Well, I was thinking we could ride them instead of walking."

The idea made me laugh. "Aloy wants to be a cowgirl?"

Her head cock to the side. "Cowgirl?"

I would have groaned, but I had to keep remembering… She nor anyone else would have a clue about anything I mentioned. So I just waved a hand. "Never mind. It was complimentary, at least. I could explain further but… maybe later? Anyway, riding these sounds a lot quicker than walking everywhere so let's mount up."

We both learned rather quickly that the machines needed some sort of saddle to protect our groins from damaged. I certainly needed something to cushion certain body parts, while even she was complaining within a few minutes that it wasn't exactly comfortable. We each carried a sleeping roll to lie on, so stopped, unrolled it then folded it up, placed it on the back of the Strider and mounted up again. It was better than nothing.

It didn't take long to reach a different gate, and again we arrived just in time to find more Nora under attack from machines. And it appeared these were just as corrupted as those we'd fought only a couple of hours before. They were vicious bastards, noticing at least a couple of Nora dead, and a couple more nursing some serious wounds. Aloy had arrows firing as soon as we dismounted, putting three-round bursts myself into others. The sound of my rifle scared the absolute shit out of the other Nora, watching them leap out of the way as each small burst found its intended target.

As I checked over the machines, giving them a kick with my boot, making sure they were dead, Aloy approached the lone Nora still capable of standing. I heard his name was Varl, Aloy asking about the way to Meridian. While he didn't know how to get all the way there, he could point us to someone who might be able to help us. A woman by the name of Marea, who lived somewhere called Mother's Crown. Mother's this, Mother's that… I knew enough to know some of the old mythologies had worshipped female figures as certain gods. I was intrigued as to why the Nora talked about an All-Mother. I'd worry about that later.

"Is this the American?" he asked.

Aloy waved me over. I offered my hand and he looked at me quizzically. He held out his own hand in a similar manner, so I took his hand and shook it. "Called a handshake. It's how we used to greet people. I'm Shepard."

"I'm Varl. I've heard rumours, that you are an Old One. Is that true?"

I glanced at Aloy. She shrugged, so I figured the truth wouldn't hurt. "Yes, it's true, but that's just between us three, okay?" he nodded. "But before you inundate me with questions, I probably won't have many answers that you seek and it's best you keep the information to yourself for now. However, it's why I'm with Aloy. We're both searching for answers."

"If you're heading out, maybe you could search for Sona?" he asked Aloy, "She's gone missing."

She snorted. "That would explain why Resh thinks he's War-Chief now. What happened?"

"After word spread of the attack at the Proving, Sona assembled a war party to chase down the attackers. But in their haste to get vengeance, some braves broke rank and raced ahead, straight into a trap. A pack of crazed machines, seething with corruption, fell upon the braves and, savaged them gone. And our losses were... extreme."

"Was Sona among the losses?" I asked.

"No. She returned with news of what happened, then set out with those who survived."

"Where was she seen last?"

"The war party massacre site. A wooded hollow across from Devil's Thirst, on this side of the river. You might be able to pick up her trail there. She went after the killers who attacked the Proving, who killed those we love, who tried to kill you..."

I gave her a look at that last bit. Didn't know about that. Was aware of an attack but didn't know she'd been a target, or the specific target anyway. She gave it a few seconds before she glanced at me. "We must find her, Shepard. Without Sona's leadership at this difficult time…"

"You seem to care a great deal about her," I suggested to Varl.

"I do. She is my mother."

That settled it in my mind. I'd lost my mother a long time ago, before the war against the machines, when I was still a child. It had been a loss I'd carried within for a long time. My father never really recovered nor moved on, putting most of his focus on raising me. I liked to think we helped each other. "We'll find her, Varl," I stated, I noticed Aloy glance my way and smile. I figure she would have agreed to help as well, but there had already been enough death…

Mounting our Striders, Varl wished us good luck as we headed into the wilderness. I could sense a few nerves from Aloy, now that we'd left the final gate behind, but she seemed to relax rather quickly when realising the 'tainted land' wasn't the land of horrors she expected… though we still hadn't travelled all that far.

"Did you see much of your world?" she asked a few minutes later.

"Yes. Long time ago, this was a state called Colorado. Travelled here once with my father. By the time the war started, we'd visited around twenty to twenty-five states, I think. We spent plenty of time in the wilderness, getting away the modern world." I chuckled to myself. "Guess you don't appreciate it until it's gone. I wouldn't mind a hot bath and a cold beer."

"Beer?"

"Er… alcohol?"

"Yes, I've heard of that. Rost…" She trailed off, and I knew straight away that was a sore point, the look that briefly passed her face.

"He was… special?"

"My father, in many ways. He helped raised me, trained me to be who I am. I spent every day for so long training for the Proving. And I won it, only for everything to go wrong." She sighed. "I know I'm not a curse, but it's hard to ignore their words when there seems to be an element of truth."

"You're not to blame, Aloy. Those who attacked, they are to blame. We'll find them and they will answer."

"Thank you for agreeing, Shepard."

"Though I want answers, I'm not exactly in a rush considering I'm, for want of a better term, stuck here. Don't mean that negatively, it's just not quite what I was expecting when I woke up."

"What did you expect?"

"I was told, before I was frozen, that it would either be ten years if the superweapon worked, or five hundred years if it didn't. It's nearly a thousand years later and it's not quite what I imagined. Didn't have all that long to imagine it, being honest. Between being told that we were going into cryo to it actually happening was a matter of a few hours."

"You slept a long time. Did you dream?"

"No. It felt like no more than a few minutes passed. I thought I would have dreamed the entire time but no…"

We fell silent as we rode along, and I have no doubt we both took in the scenery, simply because we hadn't seen it before. Whenever we approached machines, Aloy would stop us and tell me if she recognised them or not. Apparently there were machines inside the Embrace, but nothing that proved too dangerous, even after they turned hostile to humans. We kept our distance, though whenever we noticed a Watcher on patrol, we would deviate off the path, and a couple of times, Aloy fired an arrow from her position, managing to take it down without attracting too much attention.

To my surprise, we did pass by more people than I imagined, signs that people managed to make a living outside the major settlements. We ran into one hunter who was definitely nursing an injury. Aloy showed an interest in who he was, as I guess she assumed he was Nora, though more than likely an exile given that he wasn't within the Embrace. We offered to help him but he waved it away, insisting he'd survived for long enough on his own without it.

It was a couple of hours ride before Aloy suggested we were close to Devil's Thirst. I saw enough on the horizon to suggest it was actually the ruins of a city, though I had to think hard about which city it would be. Definitely not Denver, the ruins were nowhere big enough. I had to wrack my mind for other cities in Colorado.

"Colorado Springs?" I asked myself.

"What was that?"

I gestured for us to halt, gesturing at the ruins. "A thousand years of decay, not exactly a lot left, but I'm wondering what…" Then I paused as I pointed into the distance. "What the fuck is that?"

Aloy gasped. "I've heard of these things," she whispered, "Rost called them Tallnecks."

"It looks like a giraffe."

"A gi-raffe?"

"An animal from the old world. That thing looks just like it, though bigger. A lot bigger. Never saw one myself though."

"Come. The sight of the attack should be nearby. My Focus will help me locate signs."

It wasn't an attack. It was a massacre. No sign of any bodies, which I thought unusual. Or, at least, no sign of Nora bodies. But there was enough blood to suggest quite a few had died where they fought. Plenty of machines lying about too… and a Scarab. Or a Corruptor, as Aloy liked to call them. I'd just use her names from now on, otherwise we'd just confuse each other. I had no real idea what we were looking for, I guess evidence of any survivors. Aloy had a finger to her Focus, switching it on. I couldn't see what she was seeing, but she moved here and there, definitely finding evidence. I eventually leaned back against a boulder and watched her, though she eventually glanced my way and smiled.

"Are you going to help?"

"I'm a soldier, Aloy. Just point me at the enemy and I'll fight it. Already figured out you're the one with the curious streak. Smarter than me too."

The smile broadened for a moment before she resumed her investigation. I wasn't blowing wind up her skirt by admitting that. Just because she dressed differently, and had a different education, didn't make her stupid. I knew intelligence when I saw it. My girlfriend… always wondered what she saw in me. I was just a regular kid in school, nothing special. It was only when I joined up to fight that I found my calling. Those above had called me a natural leader. I just wanted to survive and keep as many of my squad alive at the same time. Guess that meant something…

A noise grabbed our attention, rifle in hand quickly as Aloy had her bow, arrow nocked and ready. He was clearly Nora, and collapsed to the ground upon seeing that at least one of us was friendly. We shared a glance, Aloy nodding, I guess suggesting he was friendly, storing our weapons before I helped him up, sitting back against a boulder.

Aloy gave him a drink from her canteen before he explained what happened during the attack and what happened since. Sona was on the warpath, that was for sure. Dran was clearly injured and was being sent back to the Embrace to report in. I used my basic medical kit to patch him up before walking him back to the main path, seeing him off.

"I can follow her trail," Aloy said.

"You can?"

"With my Focus."

"You know, I'm just going to take your lead regarding all that. You seem to know what you're doing."

"Been using it for over ten years now. I was a child when I found it." She glanced my way, another slight grin. "Thank you… for trusting me."

"We're in this together. We both want answers."

"I hope we find them."

I followed her as she somehow managed to follow the trail. No idea how, I guess by hidden footprints or something. We wound our way through the ruins of the city, still no idea which one it was. So many of the buildings had long since disappeared, no signs indicating where we were, I simply couldn't figure it out. It could have been remnants of a much larger city, or simply a small town in Colorado long forgotten.

It wasn't Denver, at least. I was fairly sure I'd recognise Denver as I'd at least been there before with my father.

We eventually found ourselves on a rise overlooking the ruined city, otherwise known as Devil's Thirst. Night was starting to fall as there were signs of a camp. Sona and the survivors had used medical supplies and made arrow heads before moving on, also signs of a recent campfire being extinguished. As it was starting to get late, I was going to suggest we halt for the evening, particularly as there was no light, and stumbling in the darkness didn't sound like much fun.

To my surprise, she agreed. "Best we rest a few hours. We can continue at sunrise," she stated.

Unrolling our bedrolls, I started a fire, taking out a bit of dried meat we'd brought along, sipping at my canteen of water. Aloy sat next to me on the log, chewing at her own meat, staring into the flames. I wasn't sure if she was deep in thought or simply relaxing. She eventually glanced my way, and I think blushed. "I'm not used to… um…"

"Company?"

"All my life, it was just me and Rost. Now there's only me."

"Well, I'm not going anywhere yet. Can't get rid of me that easily, Aloy."

She thought about that then nodded, sagging slightly. "You've lost family too."

"I assume Rost…"

"He saved my life at the Proving by sacrificing his."

"That's what fathers do. Sacrifice everything, even themselves, for those that they love."

She remained silent for a time before she whispered, "They killed him, Shepard. And I will have my vengeance."

I took a hand, and she almost jumped off the log at that. I tried to take my hand back, but she squeezed it hard, both of us looking at each, a little embarrassed. "Sorry, it's just… it's a dark path, Aloy. Vengeance, that is. You want answers, so do I. But…"

"What would you do to the people that killed your father?"

I sighed. "He killed himself," I whispered, "As the war got worse… he lost all hope and wanted to end it on his terms…"

"Oh…"

"I understand the Nora want revenge for what happened, but trust me on this. The one thing I know is history, and if blood is answered in blood, it rarely ends there. The only time it stops is when one side is wiped out entirely, or forced into such a position, they can never rise again. Otherwise, the cycle continues. Just… remember that… for your own sake…"

Waking the next morning after quite a peaceful sleep under the stars, we chewed on a bit of fruit before moving on, Aloy using her Focus to follow a blood trail, leading us along a path that circled a tall hill before walking onto a clearing, approaching what looked like a dead machine. "Sawtooth," she murmured, glancing my way, "Familiar?"

"Yeah, I'd say a tiger or a lion…"

"I killed one before. A test Rost gave me before I was sent to my Proving."

"You did?"

She must have enjoyed the surprise in my tone, earning another of those smiles I already enjoyed seeing. "With my bow."

"Show off."

She checked over the machine, taking an arrow from its carcass, whispering that it was definitely from a Nora. Distracted as she was, and as I was watching her, we never heard the other Sawtooth approaching us. We both had weapons ready to fire when an arrow hit it, so hard and in such a spot that it collapsed to the ground and disappeared over the ridge.

We both then swung towards the person that had fired the arrow. I saw a dark skinned woman, dressed similarly to other Nora I'd seen, but this woman was nothing but a warrior. The look on her face… wow, she was… rage wouldn't even describe it. Her eyes moved between us before she slowly lowered her bow.

"Fools, the pair of you."

I'd been called worse.


End file.
